As businesses place an increasing emphasis on collaboration, the search continues for ways to be increasingly productive as a team. Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) has emerged as a popular and effective solution: In 2015, International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that UCaaS service revenues would reach $644 million by 2016. But how do you know if it's right for your business?

Determining whether a UCaaS solution could be right for your organization is a matter of understanding the potential capabilities it can give your team. In other words, answering the following question can help you make a decision: How can UCaaS make collaboration easier?

Unified Communications as a Service: Bring It All Together

Unified Communications (UC) has traditionally meant different things to different companies. To Jim Tynan, Twinstate's VP of Sales, it means "a single graphical interface in which to manage phone calls, presence and availability with all of my staff."

That last bit is important: "With all of my staff."

UC is a collaboration tool. Not only does it allow you to collaborate through screen sharing and call hosting, but the more elaborate solutions also allow for notation and for CRM integration, making it easier to share information across teams.

With just one, simple interface, you can launch an email, see who is available for a chat with a customer, see who's free for a voice call, share documents, begin a phone call and so much more. And importantly, you all have the same information. "Within that single pane of glass at your fingertips, there's no communications task you can't do," says Tynan.

Imagine you were on the phone with a client, and your coworker messaged you asking for your assistance on a project. With the right UCaaS solution, that coworker could easily determine you were not available, but your teammate was, and could collaborate on that task immediately. If all goes well, you might never even know you would have otherwise been interrupted, and they'll get the project done more quickly.

Consider another scenario: You're communicating with a client and need to pull a team member into the conversation. While you're already sharing your screen, you find that said team member is actually available, pass them a relevant document, and they begin sharing their comments with both you and the client — seamlessly.

Says Tynan, "We might start with a chat, then launch into a phone call, then click 'collaborate' and the next thing you know we're all looking at the same screens and video chatting. It's a matter of 10 seconds. Two clicks. One interface."

Build Your Team Instantly

One of the most important aspects of being capable of quick collaboration is your ability to source available team members and contact them immediately, regardless of their location or device choice.

When you give your employees access to a simple, intuitive interface that facilitates that contact and provides a shared user experience, you give them the opportunity to pull a team together to solve a problem within minutes. There are myriad reasons to choose UC, but the ability to collaborate quickly and effectively underlies them all.